Beijing Government Releases Air Pollution Control Regulations

Recently, the Beijing Municipal Government issued the “Regulations on Prevention and Control of Atmospheric Pollution in Beijing” (draft for review), and will solicit public opinions from January 19 to February 8. In addition to increasing the management of polluting enterprises, the regulations have also proposed regulations for the mandatory suspension of motor vehicles and regional restrictions on the passage of pollution.

The draft issued stipulates that, under the premise of atmospheric pollution accidents and emergencies, measures to be taken to order the suspension of some motor vehicles shall be carried out by the traffic control department. It can be inferred that the range of parked vehicles is not limited to official vehicles. It is also intended to include some social vehicles such as private cars.

The draft for review has confirmed the “Regional Limit” system, which stipulates that “the municipal government can, in accordance with the quality of the atmospheric environment, adopt traffic control measures that restrict the travel of motor vehicles within a certain area in accordance with the vehicle's emission level, age, or vehicle type”. In simple terms, the municipal government can, depending on the needs of the atmospheric environment, refer to the vehicle's environmental indicators, emission levels, age, and models, and determine whether certain types of vehicles are banned from certain areas.

At present, another type of mandatory stop-moving measure in Beijing is the tail number limit line. The penalty standard is based on the “Law of the Road Crossing” and a fine of 100 yuan is imposed on those who violate the road. According to this calculation, the penalty for the suspension of the manuscript will be 100 yuan.

In response to the “new car entry” catalog management strategy for “sales vehicles”, the environmental protection department will regularly publish the catalogue of motor vehicle models that meet the stipulated emission standards, and the models entering the catalog will be eligible to sell cars in Beijing; the models in the catalogue will be purchased. In order to apply for registration of new cars such as on board.

The draft has also formulated a "parking out" clause: When parking in schools, hospitals, hotels, shopping malls, office space, offices, parks and other surrounding areas for more than 3 minutes, the driver should actively extinguish the car engine. However, no penalties have been established for this.

In addition, the review draft also stipulates that the fuel oil sold in Beijing shall be supplemented with vehicle oil detergent and ensure that the cleanliness of the oil product meets the required standards. If the oil products for sale do not meet the national and municipal requirements for the cleanliness of vehicle oil products, the competent department of environmental protection administration shall order them to correct the illegal activities within a time limit and impose a fine of between 10,000 yuan and 100,000 yuan.